Little Santa and His Elf
by msmooseberry
Summary: Mikoto likes to dress her boys up for family Christmas parties, and so does Kushina. This Christmas little Santa and Reindeer get to play with a cheerful blond Elf, only Sasuke wants him all to himself. SasuNaru, pre-slash, kid fic, fluff.


A/N: I really liked the official **Ultimate Ninja Blazing Sasuke and Itachi Christmas arts**. We discussed them with Meehalla and I decided to write a kid fic about the Uchiha brothers dressed as Santa and a reindeer. Also we agreed that Naruto would be the cutest little elf. I hope you'll enjoy it. Happy Holidays! :3

A/N 2: Here's Santa Sasuke - ultimateninjablazingx com/character/sasuke-uchiha-heartwarming-gift/

And here's reindeer Itachi - ultimateninjablazingx com/character/itachi-uchiha-silent-night-visitor/ Just add a dot before com to access the site.

A/N 3: This fic is the first in my **ARTful Lines** series, that will include short fics based on Naruto fanart and offart (they will mainly be SNS, but I will write about other pairings as well from time to time).

Warnings: cuteness overload, Christmas costumes, Sasuke is a sucker for Naruto's attention and praise, Naruto is an innocent little sunshine, and Itachi is asked some important stuff.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and make no profit.

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When the doorbell rang, Sasuke was putting the last snowflake he made in class a couple of days ago on their large colourfully decorated Christmas tree, held up by Itachi.

"He's here!" he cried and jumped off his brother's back so quickly he almost toppled over them both, but, luckily, the twelve-year-old managed to catch him across the waist before his face met the floor.

"Easy, Sasuke, don't hurry so much," but Sasuke didn't hear him, he was already running to the hall to meet his friend. Itachi chuckled softly and followed him at a more leisurely pace.

Just as he turned the corner he saw a flash of green which collided with his little brother and twirled him in a hug once before stopping. It was Naruto, the little whirlwind, Sasuke's best friend and classmate.

"Hey Sasuke, guess what, I'm an elf! Look, mom even made me the pointy ears, isn't that cool!" and Naruto turned his head this way and that to demonstrate his small ears, flushed pink from the winter chill and having two craftily made plastic pieces attached, which made him look like a real fairy tale creature.

"That's amazing!" Sasuke agreed, staring at Naruto in awe. He always thought his blond friend was pretty, but he was even more so today, with his cheeks rosy red from the cold and his adorable elf costume that consisted of a little green hat with a bell stitched to the pointy end, a snug green jacket with big red buttons in the form of cupcakes and candy canes, a matching pair of short pants and red and white stockings. But what was more important still, Naruto was so close, Sasuke could see the cheerful twinkles in his beautiful blue eyes that he liked so much. He was smiling at him and hugging him, and Sasuke liked Naruto's hugs the most.

"Hello, Sasuke," Kushina came up to the two boys and ruffled Sasuke's hair. "You make a perfect little Santa," she cooed, and Sasuke felt his cheeks heat up, letting go of Naruto for a moment and straightening his rumpled red jacket to look more presentable. He always adored Naruto's mom, she had such pretty long red hair, it reminded him of tomatoes, and Sasuke loved tomatoes.

He and Naruto had known each other since they were toddlers because their mothers were best friends. Every holiday the two families got together, taking their kids with them so that they could play and make friends. This time it was the Uchihas' turn to host a Christmas party, so Kushina and Minato came and brought Naruto and a cherry-chocolate cake Kushina was famous for.

While the adults chatted and exchanged greetings, Sasuke pulled Naruto upstairs to his room to have him all to himself. But when the two passed through the living room, Naruto spotted Itachi and rushed to greet him as well.

"Itachi!" He hugged the taller boy, missing a frown that crept onto Sasuke's face, making him look like a little thunder cloud with his cheeks puffed out.

"Hello, Naruto," Itachi saw the little blond fairly often as he constantly came over to do homework, play games and watch cartoons with Sasuke. Not infrequently he joined them as well, but he knew that Sasuke didn't like to share.

"Are you one of Santa's deers?" Naruto looked curiously at the costume Mikoto made for him this year. And yes, he was indeed a reindeer, because Sasuke asked him to be one, so that they could play Santa delivering presents, which basically involved Itachi piggybacking him around the house.

"Yes, I'm one of his deer," Itachi grinned as he saw Naruto's smile widen.

"Will you give me a ride?" he asked with so much hope in his voice it was physically impossible for Itachi to say no.

"Of course, hop up," and Itachi turned, crouching down a little to make it easier for Naruto to get on his back.

"Yay!" the blond practically glowed with joy as he settled comfortably, hugging Itachi around the neck. This way he was almost a whole foot higher from the ground and could get a closer look at the decorations at the top of the fir tree that sat aglow in the middle of the living room. "Let's go around the Christmas tree!" he jovially commanded and Itachi obliged. He started circling the tree at a light pace, holding Naruto firmly by the dangling legs because he let go of his neck almost immediately.

"Look, Sasuke," he called, waving at the pouting brunet. "I'm riding a rainydeer!" with each step Itachi took the little bell on Naruto's hat jingled happily, very much in tune with Naruto's excited laughter.

Just as Itachi was finishing the third circle, he felt a tug on his costume clad leg. He stopped and looked down at his baby brother.

"What is it, Sasuke, you want a ride too?" Itachi started lowering Naruto to the ground, ready to take another little rider, but Sasuke looked at him petulantly and didn't budge.

"Elves don't spend all their time with the reindeer, they are supposed to stay with Santa," at that he grabbed perplexed Naruto by the hand and tugged him away from the room and from his big brother. Itachi just shook his head at the spectacle with a small smile on his face and went to the kitchen to help Mikoto set the table.

Meanwhile the two boys got to Sasuke's room. As soon as they entered Naruto went to the aquarium where he had put a small frog he found in his yard somewhere in September. He didn't want the poor thing to freeze but amphibians were among Kushina's strongest pet peeves, so she refused to let Naruto keep it at their place. That's why he practically begged Sasuke to take in the poor little green guy, and made his most adorable puppy dog eyes (even Sasuke couldn't rival him in that disarming technique). Of course, Sasuke agreed, and luckily, Mikoto didn't mind, and Fugaku rarely came into Sasuke's room anyway, so the frog stayed.

"How're you doing, Gama-chan," he called softly as the frog appeared to be sleeping, sitting all still on a rock under the lamp. "Did Sasuke feed you well while I was away?" he reached for the frog's head with a finger, intending to pet it a little, but Sasuke startled him from behind.

"Come on, I've got something for you!" he said impatiently, spinning Naruto around and effectively drawing his attention back to himself. And Sasuke liked it when Naruto's eyes were only on him, he wanted to make it stay like this forever. However, when they went to school this autumn, Naruto met lots of new kids, and he easily made friends, unlike Sasuke, who didn't need anyone except Naruto. Sasuke just didn't want to lose his best friend, and he was determined to do anything to keep him by his side.

"What is it?" Naruto asked intrigued, seeing that Sasuke was hiding something behind his back. Sasuke was blushing, but he looked Naruto straight in the eye when he handed him a medium sized blue box with a sloppily tied dark blue ribbon on top.

"That's my present, Merry Christmas!" he knew he could've put it under the tree, but Itachi was there and he didn't want Naruto to get distracted.

"Oh! Thank you, Sasuke!" and Naruto squeezed him in another hug, this one much shorter for the box between them got in the way. Naruto experimentally shook it up and down but could hear practically no sound from the inside. "What's in it?" he asked, and Sasuke huffed impatiently.

"Just open it," his eyes had an excited sparkle to them, and he fidgeted a bit, eager to see Naruto's reaction. Naruto fumbled with the bow a little then opened the box, immediately letting out a surprised gasp.

"It's a frog!" he looked up at Sasuke, clearly ecstatic at the discovery.

"It's not just some frog, look," Sasuke urged him to inspect his present. When Naruto pulled it out, he gasped again, this time amused.

"It's a wallet!" the little frog-shaped wallet was something Sasuke pestered his mother to help him make for at least a month. They went to the shop together and chose the fabric and the clasp, Mikoto helped Sasuke cut it and make the stitches tight, as well as sew on the frog's legs, and Sasuke finished it himself by glueing the round plastic eyes on top. The result was quite a lovely little frog wallet that had a white patch stitched on with green thread that read 'Naruto's wallet'. This way it was absolutely unique and customed specially for Naruto.

"It is so cool! It even has my name on it!" Naruto marvelled at the fact and said it to Sasuke as if the brunet wasn't the one who made it that way. Suddenly, Naruto's expression changed, and he looked like he just remembered something of grave importance.

"Your present! I forgot it downstairs," and as soon as the words left his mouth Naruto dashed out of the room. Not five minutes later he came sprinting back.

"Close your eyes, Sasuke," Naruto asked when he entered the room, and Sasuke did just that, playing along. He heard a light rustle and felt a faint smell of glue. "Okay, you can look now," Naruto said giddily.

Sasuke opened his eyes and was met with two figures, one black haired and one blond, holding hands and smiling, looking straight at him from a square piece of cardboard painted blue. And they were made of noodles.

"Wow," he knew Naruto liked noodles so this shouldn't have been surprising, but it was, and Sasuke had to admit he was impressed, the figures, which were them, noodle-Sasuke and noodle-Naruto, were really well-made and resembled their living prototypes a lot. Well, at least from his seven-year-old point of view.

"I made it myself," Naruto said proudly, "Do you like it?" he peered into Sasuke's eyes, his own wide and glittering with mirth and contained excitement.

"Yeah, they look just like us," he ran his finger over the painted noodles.

"Cause that's us, you see, they're holding hands cause they're the bestest of friends and really like playing together," Sasuke smiled at him. Naruto was his best friend, and he liked that the blond thought the same. He could have no matter how many friend, but Sasuke would always be his one and only best friend. He would see to that.

"Thanks," he said, taking Naruto by the hand and squeezing it, like he saw his and Naruto's father do. It was a symbol of friendship. But just as he was about to let go, Naruto suddenly leaned forward and placed a sloppy wet kiss on his cheek.

"W-why did you do that?" Sasuke felt his face grow impossibly hot, as if he was running a fever, and touched the place where Naruto's lips were just a moment ago. He stared at his friend in wonder, noting how Naruto turned bright pink as well.

"I-I saw Ino kissing Sakura and when I asked her why she did it, she said 'cause she's my best friend', and I saw mom kiss dad too, and they love each other a lot, and I thought-," he looked frustrated with himself and started fidgeting, looking at his feet, and Sasuke didn't like it. He actually enjoyed the kiss, it was just unexpected, so now he decided to return the gesture to show Naruto that it was okay.

Sasuke wanted to kiss Naruto on the cheek as well, but when he was almost there, Naruto suddenly turned his head and his lips landed on the blond's rosy little mouth, which was half-open because he wanted to say something. It took the boys by surprise and they quickly staggered away from each other, with wide eyes and flaming cheeks. Sasuke wanted to explain himself, but at that very moment his mom came into the room.

"Here you are, boys, come, it's time for dinner," Mikoto took in their appearance and glanced between them in confusion, "Did you two have a fight?"

"N-no, Sasuke just gave me his present and I gave him his," Naruto was the first to speak, always the more talkative of the two, while Sasuke nodded enthusiastically in agreement. Mikoto felt they weren't telling her the whole truth but decided not to push.

"Alright then, let's go downstairs," and the little Santa and his elf hurried out of the room, the jingle of the bell on Naruto's hat accompanying them merrily.

The dinner was very delicious, Mikoto's cooking perfect as always, and Kushina's cake, served with cinnamon spice tea, was the ideal desert. Even Sasuke, who didn't like sweet things all that much, couldn't refuse a second helping - it was just that good.

Then the three boys went to play in the living room, while the adults continued to talk about boring things around the table, drinking hot beverages that smelt spicier than the tea.

"Say, Itachi," Naruto asked, looking at the older boy, cocking his head curiously, "Do you have a best friend?" Itachi blinked at him, then hummed in thought, seriously considering the question. He was a thoughtful boy by nature, and took many things with the seriousness of an adult, so hearing his peers calling themselves 'best friends' one day only to barely spare each other a glance the other made him fairly sceptical about the whole concept. But Naruto looked at him so innocently and eagerly, as if it never crossed his mind that somebody may not have a good friend at all, let alone a 'best' one.

Suddenly, Itachi remembered a loudmouth fiery blond in his class, whom he liked to watch from afar but never had enough courage to approach. Deidara was his name, and Itachi thought that if he had to pick someone, it'd be him. Maybe it was time he came over his shyness, went up to the cheerful blond who always laughed and looked like mirth incarnate, and asked him to be friends. Optimistic about his unexpected resolution, Itachi finally answered Naruto, who started impatiently stepping from one foot to another, "Yes, I think I do," or 'I would', but he had to keep his face in front of the little ones.

"Do you kiss?" if Itachi wasn't sitting on the coach at that moment he would definitely have fallen on his butt, as ungraceful and undignified as it would have been. Just to think about kissing Deidara... but he absolutely wasn't ready to even go there. That Naruto, he'd always been very unpredictable, and Itachi should've gotten used to it already, but the little blond managed to catch him off guard every time.

"I-," Itachi had to clear his throat, "No, we don't," he didn't know why he sounded so disappointed, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, that's cause-," Naruto started but was quickly silenced by Sasuke, who clapped both hands over his friend's mouth.

"Nothing! It's nothing, okay!" Sasuke was clearly panicking, which made Itachi raise a curious brow at the two boys in front of him. Not that it was any of his business, but still.

"Alright, if you say so, little brother," Itachi said, clearly teasing his sudden outburst. Sasuke was beet-red and couldn't look him in the eye, and Naruto looked all pouty all of a sudden. Something had definitely happened between the two, and Itachi could take a wild guess what exactly.

Then the doorbell rang, and as it turned out, it was Uncle Obito who passed by, leaving his annual presents 'for the kids' earlier than usual, because he was leaving for a business trip to Suna, and had to catch his plane in an hour or so. He chatted with his relatives and the Namikazes, giving the boys bear hugs and, after hastily wishing Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everybody, hurried to the taxi waiting for him.

"Uncle Obito's always so nice," Naruto said, happily rummaging in the bag of sweets he got from the happy-go-lucky generous Uchiha.

"Yeah," Sasuke held a similar bag but wasn't as pleased. It seemed Obito chose the sweetest sweets on earth to put in there, and normally he couldn't eat more than a couple, but there was always a good use for the rest. Sasuke grinned to himself in anticipation.

"Hey, Naruto," he called. "Do you want my share of sweets?" when Naruto's head instantly snapped up at his words, he already knew the answer.

"Sasuke, you're the best!" yes, that was more like it. Sasuke enjoyed it immensely when Naruto said such things, and he was always so sincere, it gave Sasuke the best feeling in the world. It was even better than getting his father's scarce praise, and that was saying something.

"But first you have to tell me what you like about me most," Sasuke settled comfortably on the coach, patting the spot beside him. Naruto hopped up without a moment's hesitation.

"Oh that's easy," he sang. "I like how you're cool, and funny, and smart, and let me copy your homework but don't say I'm stupid like Sakura-chan does, and you're kind cause you look after Gama-chan, and I like it when you smile cause then I want to smile to, and I think you're eyes are really pretty, and-"

"Really?" by the time Naruto got to his eyes, Sasuke was glowing bright pink and had a wide happy grin on his face, and the blond was ready to go on and on.

"Yeah, really!" Naruto looked at him with eyes shining bright with adoration. It was exactly what Sasuke wanted. He pushed his bag into Naruto's hands and giggled when he gasped in delight. Then, however, he glanced at Sasuke as if ashamed of his reaction.

"Are you sure you don't want any?"

"No, they're all yours," Sasuke said importantly, felling like the men in his mom's sappy movies, who promised to get the moon from the sky if their girl friend asked. Luckily, Naruto didn't care for the moon at all, so it was fairly easy for Sasuke to make him happy. He wondered whether some day that would change, but then again, he was always up for a challenge.

"Naruto, Sasuke, you can eat your sweets later, come up here, we're going to take a picture," Minato called, setting up the camera Fugaku had brought on the tripod.

They stood in the middle of the living room, right in front of the Christmas tree, two families bound by the ties of friendship, the Uchihas on the left, the Namikazes on the right, and two boys, a little Santa and his elf, in between them. Both were grinning from ear to ear and held each other's hand tight, looking like the happiest kids on the whole planet.

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This fic has a companion piece **All You Want For Christmas** (to be posted on December 24), which is set some 20 years later and gives you a glimpse of how Sasuke and Naruto celebrate as a couple. ;D


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